Home boarding or kennels in Darlington?

Overnight boarding in Darlington comes in two different shapes: a home boarder, who takes your dog into their own house, or a purpose-built kennels, where dogs stay in individual runs on a dedicated site. Two of the town's nine listed businesses are home boarders; six run boarding kennels. The Dog Barn Darlington sits slightly outside this split: it holds both a day-care licence and a separate home boarding licence, but is listed here at a fixed address near Darlington rather than as an area-only home boarder.

Home boarding

Darlington's two listed home boarders are both branches of the national Petpals franchise, separately licensed rather than one business covering a wider patch: Petpals Darlington & Yarm, run by Sandra, covers Darlington, Yarm, Middleton St George, Hurworth and Brafferton; Petpals South Durham, run by Paul and Helen, covers Newton Aycliffe, Barnard Castle, Spennymoor and Sedgefield despite being licensed by Darlington Borough Council rather than Durham County Council. As with any home boarder, only the area and town are shown on the listing; the address is given once you book. Ask how many other dogs will be in the house during your dates.

Boarding kennels

Darlington's six boarding kennels are spread across all four of the town's areas: Sadberge Boarding Kennels & Cattery in the Darlington centre area; Skyecroft Boarding Kennels & Cattery near Shildon; Littlemoor Farm, East Shaws Boarding Kennels & Cattery and 4Paws Farm near Bishop Auckland and Barnard Castle; and Hunton Clump Kennels near Catterick Garrison. Skyecroft is the only one to publish a price, from £19 a day for one dog; see our prices guide for the full figures.

Which suits your dog

A nervous dog, or one used to a lot of one-to-one attention, may settle better with a home boarder than in a kennel block, while a dog that copes well away from a family home, or an owner who wants a fixed, staffed site with set hours, may prefer purpose-built kennels. Ask either type of business how it introduces a new dog to its routine, and see our first stay guide for what a trial visit usually covers.